1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to materials for articles of apparel. The invention concerns, more particularly, a flocked material that is suitable for use in articles of apparel. The invention has application, for example, to articles of apparel intended for use during athletic activities.
2. Description of Background Art
Articles of apparel designed for use during athletic activities generally exhibit characteristics that enhance the performance or comfort of an individual. For example, apparel may incorporate an elastic material that provides a relatively tight fit, thereby imparting the individual with a lower profile that minimizes wind resistance. Apparel may also be formed from a material that wicks moisture away from the individual in order to reduce the quantity of perspiration that accumulates adjacent to the skin. Furthermore, apparel may incorporate materials that are specifically selected for particular environmental conditions. Accordingly, materials incorporated into articles of apparel for athletic activities may be specifically selected to enhance the performance or comfort of the individual.
The characteristics of the materials that are incorporated into an article of apparel are generally selected based upon the specific activity for which the article of apparel is intended to be used. A material that minimizes wind resistance, for example, may be suitable for activities where speed is a primary concern. Similarly, a material that reduces the quantity of perspiration that accumulates adjacent to the skin may be most appropriate for athletic activities commonly associated with a relatively high degree of exertion. Accordingly, materials may be selected to enhance the performance or comfort of individuals engaged in specific athletic activities.
Textiles area a commonly-utilized class of materials for articles of apparel. Textiles may be defined as any manufacture from fibers, filaments, or yarns characterized by flexibility, fineness, and a high ratio of length to thickness. Textiles generally fall into two categories. The first category includes textiles produced directly from webs of fibers by bonding, fusing, or interlocking to construct non-woven fabrics and felts. The second category includes textiles formed through a mechanical manipulation of yarn, thereby producing a woven fabric.
Yarn is the raw material utilized to form textiles in the second category and may be defined as an assembly having a substantial length and relatively small cross-section that is formed from at least one filament or a plurality of fibers. Fibers have a relatively short length and require spinning or twisting processes to produce a yarn of suitable length for use in textiles. Common examples of fibers are cotton and wool. Filaments, however, have an indefinite length and may merely be combined with other filaments to produce a yarn suitable for use in textiles. Modern filaments include a plurality of synthetic materials such as rayon, nylon, polyester, and polyacrylic, with silk being the primary, naturally-occurring exception. Yarn may be formed from a single filament or a plurality of individual filaments grouped together. Yarn may also include separate filaments formed from different materials, or the yarn may include filaments that are each formed from two or more different materials. Similar concepts also apply to yarns formed from fibers. Accordingly, yarns may have a variety of configurations that generally conform to the definition provided above.
The various techniques for mechanically manipulating yarn into a textile include interweaving, intertwining and twisting, and interlooping. Interweaving is the intersection of two yarns that cross and interweave at substantially right angles to each other. The yarns utilized in interweaving are conventionally referred to as warp and weft. Intertwining and twisting encompasses procedures such as braiding and knotting where yarns intertwine with each other to form a textile. Interlooping involves the formation of a plurality of columns of intermeshed loops, with knitting being the most common method of interlooping.
The manner in which a textile is formed, and the specific yarns incorporated into the textile, affect the characteristics of the textile and the suitability of the textile for use in articles of apparel for athletic activities. A tight weave, for example, may not be sufficiently permeable to permit the removal of perspiration. A tight weave, however, may be sufficient to block wind or precipitation. Accordingly, the suitability of a particular textile depends upon various factors relating to the particular activity and environmental conditions associated with the activity.